FABRICATION, APPLICATION AND

ANALYSIS OF A DOUBLE GLAZED

DOUBLE PASS FLAT PLATE SOLAR
AIR HEATER
Supervisor: Dr. J.P. Kesari
Submitted by:
 WHY SOLAR ENERGY?
▪ Global energy consumption in the last half-century
has rapidly increased and is expected to continue to
grow over the next 50 years
▪ Unlike conventional power, solar produces no harmful
emissions that hurt the environment. It’s a clean,
renewable process that uses the most natural of all
resources: the sun.
▪ With increasing oil prices and decreasing prices for
solar panel equipment, companies have been able to
produce electricity from solar energy at a cost lower
than that from conventional sources. The current cost
of producing electricity from solar energy in India is
Rs 3/unit.
 SOLAR AIR HEATER
▪ A device that employs solar energy to heat the air flowing
through it.
▪ The heated air could be used for various applications.
 SOLAR DRYER
The sunlight based drying framework uses sun powered vitality to warm up air and to dry any nourishment substance stacked, which is advantageous in
decreasing wastage of farming item and aides in protection of horticultural item. In view of the restrictions of the characteristic sun drying e.g. presentation to
coordinate daylight, risk to vermin and rodents absence of appropriate checking, and the raised cost of the mechanical dryer, a sun based is in this way created to
cook for this constraint.
 PARTS OF A FLAT PLATE SOLAR
AIR HEATER
1. Absorber surface: usually a dark, thermally conducting
surface.
2. Glazing: A trap for reradiation losses from the absorber
surface (such as glass, which transmits shorter-wavelength
solar radiation but blocks the longer-wavelength radiation
from the absorber)
3. A heat-transfer medium such as air, water, and so on
4. Thermal insulation behind the absorber surface.
Flat-plate collectors are used typically for temperature
requirements up to 75°C, although higher temperatures
can be obtained from high-efficiency collectors.

Fig. Parts of a typical Flat Plate Solar Air Heater.

 TYPES OF FLAT PLATE SOLAR
AIR HEATER
Liquid-Type Heater
where heat-transfer fluid may
be water, mixture of water and
antifreeze oil, and so on
Air-Type Heater
where heat-transfer medium is air
(used mainly for drying
and space heating requirements)
 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF
FLAT PLATE AIR-TYPE SOLAR
AIR HEATER

Solar Air Heater is based on the principle of Convection and

Radiation.
FABRICATED SOLAR AIR
HEATER
SOLAR AIR DRYER
LITERATURE REVIEW
▪ Conventional SAHs consist of insulated hot air ducts, panels, and air blowers in
active systems. The thermal performance of an SAH depends on several factors
such as the dimensions of the collector, the absorber’s type and shape, glass
cover, inlet temperature, wind speed, etc. Many researches have been carried out
for studying in detail the effect of those parameters on the thermal performance of
SAHs. Venegas et al. (2011) studied the effect of wind velocity, ambient
temperature, and relative humidity on the performance of the SAH.
▪ Several configurations were suggested by the researchers in designing the
absorber plates of SAHs in order to improve the heat transfer coefficient between
the absorber plate and the working fluid. In several studies, the areas of the
absorber plates were increased by employing artificial roughness, obstacles, and
baffles in different shapes and arrangements (Romdhane and Slama 2007). Esen
(2008) experimentally investigated the effect of fixing obstacles on the absorber
plate while Varun et al. (2009) employed transverse and inclined ribs as elements
of artificial roughness on the absorber.
 MATERIAL USED IN THE
1. Window glass for glazing: 2
HEATER
2. Aluminum sheet for Absorber Plate and back plate:2
3. Wooden frame
4. Styrofoam for insulation
5. UPS Cooling fan DC (12 V, 2.7 A)
6. Hose for heated air
7. Aluminum Screen
8. L-shaped bracket
9. Other required material: black paint, brush, nails, DC battery,
Feviquick etc.
 DIMENSIONS OF THE SOLAR
1. Length, L: 750 mm or 2.5 feet
HEATER
2. Breath, b: 500 mm or 1.64 feet
3. Height, H: 14 cm
4. Thickness of wood: 0.75 inch or 1.9 cm
5. Thickness of glass : 0.3 mm
6. Thickness of Al sheet : 0.2 mm
7. Thickness of Styrofoam : 1 cm
8. Distance of middle Al sheet : 4 cm from bottom glass
9. Length of middle sheet : 655 mm
10. Height of each channel, h :4.5 cm
 THERMAL ANALYSIS
▪ 
▪ 
 MATHEMATICAL RELATIONS
▪ In order to solve the model, the convective heat transfer coefficients
for air flowing over the outside surface of the top glass cover and
inside the channel are needed. The following correlation proposed by
McAdams for air flowing over the outside surface of the glass cover is
used to predict the convective heat transfer coefficient
(1)

where ha is the convective heat transfer coefficient, and V is the wind

velocity.
▪ Heaton et al. proposed the convective heat transfer coefficient
correlation between the channel for laminar flow region (Re<2300) as
follows:
(2)
▪ where Nu is the Nusselt number, Re is the Reynolds number, Pr is the
Prandtl number, Nu∞=5.4 and De is the equivalence diameter of the
channel as follows:
(3)

▪ For the transition flow region (2300<Re<6000), the correlation

proposed by Hausen is used to predict the heat transfer coefficient

((4)

▪ The correlation proposed by Tan and Charters is used to predict the

heat transfer coefficient for turbulent flow region follows:
(5)
 CALCULATIONS
1. Coefficient of thermal conductance of glass
Kglass = 0.78 Wm-1 K-1
2. Average flow velocity (v)
v= 1.196 m/s
3. Average Kinematic Viscosity of air
νavg =1.79 X 10-5 m2/s
4. Reynolds Number (Re)
Re = vL/νavg =1.196 X 0.655/1.79 X 10-5 = 43764.25 (suggests
Turbulent flow)
5. Average Thermal Diffusivity of air
α avg = 0.0158 m2/s
5. Prandtl Number (Pe) of air
Pr =νavg/ α avg = 0.7089
6. Nusselt Number (Nu) of flow (Using equation 5)
Nu= 0.018 X (Re)^0.8 x Pr ^(0.4) = 0.018 X (43764.25)
^(0.8) X (0.71)^(0.4)
=81.0348
7. Equivalent Diameter (De)
De= 4 X b X h/ 2(b+h) =0.8256881 m
8. Heat transfer coefficient (h)
h= Nu X K/De = 2.343
GRAPH FOR THE DESIGNED
HEATER
MATLAB CODE
 REFERENCES
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